Man should always be with Allah:

   Dear brother, Allah (exalted is His Majesty) uses an honorable educational style in this Hadith where the Prophet PBUH instructed us to do the following while making Du'a (supplication):

((Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said while talking about the merits of Friday, "There is a time on Friday at which a Muslim, while he (or she) is performing Salat and is supplicating, will be granted whatever he (or she) is supplicating for." And he (PBUH) pointed with his hand to indicate that this period of time is very short.))

 

 [Ahmad, on the authority of Abi Hurairah]

 

 

 What should the Muslim do? This Hadith indicates that the Muslim should remember Allah abundantly for long hours (on Friday), for he may do that during the time of the Divine Response. This is an exalted educational style which directs us to remember Allah the Almighty and to be with Him all the time. There is a time on Friday at which a Muslim, while he/she is performing Salah and supplicating, will be granted whatever he/she supplicates for.

 

 

 Also, there is the night of Al-Qadr which is not specified on a certain day in the last ten days of Ramadan, but rather it is left unknown (so that the Muslim will spend his time in the last ten days praying and supplicating, hoping that he does that during that blessed night), and this is also another educational style (which encourages us to pray and supplicate abundantly). In addition, there is one of the Names of Allah which is the Great Name of His, and with which if the Muslims ask Allah, their Du'a will be responded to, but we have not been told which Name it is, and it has not been specified for us.

 

 

 These three styles are meant to keep us always with Allah; namely, to pray and supplicate whether on Friday and during the last ten days of Ramadan, and to ask Allah by all His Beautiful Names.

 

 

 Scholars adopted different opinions regarding Allah's Names. Some of them said, "At the times when the Mercy of Allah is most needed, then His Great Name is Ar-Raheem (The Most Merciful), at the times when kindness is most needed, then His Great Name is Al-Lateef (The Gentle), and at the times when the Divine Omnipotence is most needed, then His Great Name is Al-Qadeer (The Omnipotent), so just name your need. Are you at times when you are in dire need of Allah's Mercy? Are you at times of war when you ask for Allah's Help against your enemy and you are in dire need of His Name Al-Qawi (The Most Powerful)? Thus, when the servant of Allah has a special need, then the Name of Allah which meets his need is Allah's Great Name.
 

 

 Allah is Self-Sufficient; He is in no need of another being for His Existence:

   This lecture, despite what I have just mentioned, is about the Great Name of Allah specifically:

((It was narrated from 'Abdullah bin Buraidah that his father said: "The Prophet (PBUH) heard a man say: 'Allahumma! Inni as'aluka bi-annaka Antallahul-Ahadus-Samad, alladhi lam yalid wa lam yuwlud, wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad (O Allah! I ask You by virtue of Your being Allah, the One, the Self-Sufficient Master, Who begets not nor was begotten, and there is none co-equal or comparable to Him).' The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: 'He has asked Allah by His Greatest Name, which if He is asked thereby He gives, and if He is called upon thereby He answers.'"))

 

 [Narrated by four Imams except An-Nasa'i, on the authority of Abdullah bin Buraidah]

 

 

 Allahu As-Samad (The Self-Sufficient) means that anything or anyone other than Allah draws its/his/her existence and the continuity of its/his/her existence from Allah. If you resort to another human being, you are but resorting to someone who is in need of Allah just like you, but if you resort to As-Samad Whose Existence is Self-Sufficient, and He is in no need of another being for His Existence (Unlike man whose existence is appertaining to the existence of sh3er), He will meet your need.

 

 

 You are strong and you maintain your position as long as your heart beats. In other words, your position, your wealth and enjoying life are possible as long as your blood liquidity is fine, but the minute you have a clot, you will lose everything.  You are clever as long as the blood runs in your brain, but the minute you get a clot in one of your brain's vessels, your cleverness will be over, or you might end up paralyzed, blind or insane; it is all over. Thus, your existence is in need of Allah.

 

 

 If man owns 100 million Liras, this is his wealth as long as his blood runs in his brain, but if he gets a stroke he will lose his wealth and end up in a grave. Accordingly, whatever you own, whatever position you have and all your means to enjoy life are up to the liquidity of your blood, so when you get a clot, everything will be over. In fact, all joyful things in life are related to your heart, so if it keeps beating, then you can enjoy life, but when your heart stops all these joyful things will come to an end. If your cells grow irregularly (there is cancer), everything will be over.

 

 

 You are in dire need of Allah, and when you ask Allah by His Name As-Samad, this means that you are asking Allah The Self-Sufficient Who is in no need of another being for His Existence. Man might pin his hopes on another human being in order to get back to his country, and he may pay a huge amount of money to him, so the latter takes the money, promises him to help him and to receive him at the airport upon arriving, but what if this person dies one day before his arrival, which will cause that man a disaster since he will be picked up at the airport by the authorities? Though this example drew smiles on your faces, it is right to the point. When you pin your hopes on another human being who is in need of Allah just like you, your needs will never be met. You should pin your hopes on As-Samad Who is Self-Sufficient. This is the first point.
 

 

 

Allah's Beautiful Names belong to two categories:

 

 

 

 

 

 ((Mu'adh bin Jabal narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) heard a man supplicating, saying: The prophet PBUH heard a man while he was saying: "O Possessor of Majesty and Honor (Yā Dhal-Jalāli wal-Ikrām)"))

 

 [At-Tirmizi, on the authority of Mu'adh]

 

 

 Allah's Beautiful Names can be categorized in two groups: The Names of Omnipotence and the Names of Perfection (Mercy), for example amongst the Names of Omnipotence are: Al-Qawi (The Most Powerful), Al-Qadir (The Omnipotent) or Shadeed Al-Iqab (Severe in punishment).

 

﴾ Verily, (O Muhammad PBUH) the Grip (Punishment) of your Lord is severe. ﴿

 

 [Al-Burooj, 12]

 

 

 Also, amongst the Names of Omnipotence is Al-Mutakabir (The Supremely Proud), whereas among the Names of Perfection are Ar-Raheem (The Most Merciful) and Al-Lateef (The Gentle). If man asks his Lord by the Name Ya Thal Jalal wal Ikram (The Most Merciful, the Benign), he asks with a collection of the Names of Omnipotence and the Names of Merciful.

 

((Mu'adh bin Jabal narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) heard a man supplicating, saying: The prophet PBUH heard a man while he was saying: "O Possessor of Majesty and Honor . So he (PBUH) said: "You have been responded to, so ask."))

 

 [At-Tirmizi, on the authority of Mu'adh]

 

 

 This is another Name. The first Name is:

 

((…Antallahul-Ahadus-Samad, alladhi lam yalid wa lam yuwlud, wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad (O Allah! I ask You by virtue of Your being Allah, the One, the Self-Sufficient Master, Who begets not nor was begotten, and there is none co-equal or comparable to Him).))

 

 [Narrated by four Imams except An-Nasa'i, on the authority of Abdullah bin Buraidah]

 

 

 The second name is: Thul Jalal wal Ikram (the Most Merciful, the Benign).

 

 

 The third Name is mentioned in the following Hadith:

 

((Allah appoints an angel for whoever says, "O Allah the most merciful of those who show mercy", and whoever says it three times this angel will say, "The Most Merciful of those who show mercy responded to you, so ask Him"))

 

 [Al-Mustadrik, on the authority of Abi Umamah]

 

 

 "O Allah, the Most Merciful of those who show mercy, I seek your Mercy."
 

 

 Man should not ask Allah by His Great Name for worldly life related matter:

 

 ((It was narrated that 'Aishah said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (saas) say: 'Allahumma! Inni asa'luka bismikat-tahirit-tayyibil-mubarak al-ahabbi ilaika, alladhi idha du'ita bihi ajabta, wa idha su'ilta bihi a'taita, wa idhasturhimta bihi rahimta, wa idhastufrijta bihi farrajta (O Allah! I ask You by Your pure, good and blessed Name which is most beloved by You, which if You are called thereby You answer, and if You as asked thereby You give, if You are asked for mercy thereby You bestow mercy, and if You are asked for relief (from distress) thereby You grant relief.'"She said: "He said one day: 'O 'Aishah, do you know that Allah has told me the Name which, if He is called thereby, He responds?' I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be ransomed for you! Teach it to me.' He said: 'You should not learn it, O 'Aishah.'))

 

 [Ibn Majah, on the authority of 'Aishah]

 

 

 He PBUH said so to provoke 'Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, to cling and to become more attached to it.

 

((He said: 'You should not learn it, O 'Aishah.' So I moved aside and sat for a while, then I got up and kissed his head, then I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, teach it to me.' He said: 'You should not learn it, O 'Aishah, and I should not teach it to you, for you should not ask for any worldly things thereby.'))

 

 [Ibn Majah, on the authority of 'Aishah]

 

 

 There is a delicate point concerning this Hadith. If someone gives you the chance to ask him anything, and he promises to give it to you, and he can even give you a million if you ask him, but you ask only for a penny instead of million, you are a fool person. Thus, the fool person by definition is the one who misses fat chances for trivial things. Much in the same line, man should not ask Allah by His Great Name for trivial things like worldly life related matters, because the worldly life is evanescent whether man gains it or not. The Prophet PBUH said:

 

((…for you should not ask for any worldly things thereby. She said: "So I got up and performed ablution, then I prayed two Rak'ah, then I said: 'O Allah, I call upon Allah, and I call upon You, Ar-Rahman (the Most Gracious), and I call upon You, Al-Barr Ar-Rahim (The Most Kind, the Most Merciful), and I call upon You by all Your beautiful Names, those that I know and those that I do not know, (asking) that You forgive me and have mercy on me.' The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) smiled, then he said: 'It is among the names by which you called upon (Allah).'))

 

 [Ibn Majah, on the authority of 'Aishah]

 

 

 Allah's Great Name is one of those Names: Ar-Rahman (The Most Gracious), Al-Barr (The Ever-Benign) and Ar-Raheem (The Most Merciful), and in order to be more sure she mentioned all Allah's Names, then in order to be more sure she mentioned the Names she knew and the Names she did not knew, so she left nothing out. 'Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, was very clever, and she was so keen on including all the Names of Allah in her supplication (so that she may ask Him by His Great Name even accidently since the Prophet PBUH did not tell her about it). Also, she used to ask Allah by The Names she knew and the Ones she did not.

 

((The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) smiled, then he said: 'It is among the names by which you called upon (Allah).'))

 

 [Ibn Majah, on the authority of 'Aishah]

 

 

 One should ask Allah by these Names only if he is asking something for the Hereafter like asking for guidance, prosperity, offering good deeds, asking that his tongue will speak out the truth or asking to be used in serving Allah's creations.
 

 

 

Starting with sending Salah upon the Prophet is what makes Du'a responded to:

   Pay attention to the following Hadith, please:

 

((Fadalah bin 'Ubaid narrated: "While the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was seated, a man entered and performed Salat, and he said: 'O Allah, forgive me, and have mercy upon me.' The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: 'You have rushed, O praying person.))

 

 [At Tirmizi, on the authority of Fadalah]

    A brother came to me once and said, "I need a house in order to get married." I said to him, "How long have you been with us in the Masjid?" He said, "This is my first time", so I said to him, "It is too early, for you should come for two or three years before your need is met by Allah."

 

((Fadalah bin 'Ubaid narrated: "While the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was seated, a man entered and performed Salat, and he said: 'O Allah, forgive me, and have mercy upon me.' The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: 'You have rushed, O praying person. When you perform Salat and then sit, then praise Allah with what He is deserving of, and send Salat upon me, then call upon Him.'))

 

 [At-Tirmizi, on the authority of Fadalah]

 

 

 There is a nice interpretation of this Hadith that is based on an example from our everyday life. If you intend to meet a very influential man to have your need met, and you ask someone who is endeared to this influential person to go with you, you will have your need met, because you know that the minute this powerful man sees his friend with you, everything will be done. Thus, pay heed to send prayers upon the Prophet PBUH before you supplicate Allah, because by doing so you seem to be asking Allah by His Messenger (and the most beloved to Allah among mankind) to meet your need. He PBUH said:

 

((You have rushed, O praying person. When you perform Salat and then sit, then praise Allah with what He is deserving of, and send Salat upon me, then call upon Him.' He said: "Then another man performed Salat after that, so he praised Allah and sent Salat upon the Prophet (PBUH). The Prophet (PBUH) said to him: 'O praying person! Supplicate, and you shall be answered.'))

 

 [At-Tirmizi, on the authority of Fadalah]

 

 

 Whenever we supplicate, we should send prayers upon the prophet PBUH then we supplicate. Also, we end our Du'a by sending prayers upon the Prophet PBUH. Thus, one should send prayers upon the Prophet PBUH before and after Du'a.
 

 

 The Du'a of Thun Noon (Yunus PBUH) can be made by all believers:

   The last Hadith is:

((Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin Sa'd narrated from his father, from Sa'd that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "The supplication of Dhun-Nun (Prophet Yunus) when he supplicated, while in the belly of the whale was: 'There is none worthy of worship except You, Glory to You, Indeed, I have been of the transgressors. (Lā ilāha illā anta subḥānaka innī kuntu minaz-zālimīn)' So indeed, no Muslim man supplicates with it for anything, ever, …))

 

 [At-Tirmizi, on the authority of Sa'd]

   
  These are the words of the Prophet PBUH.

 

((…So indeed, no Muslim man supplicates with it for anything, ever, except Allah responds to him.))

 

 [At-Tirmizi, on the authority of Sa'd]

 

 

 This is addressed to any Muslim regarding any topic, for Allah the Almighty will respond to him.  Al-Hakim added to this narration:

 

 

((A man asked: "O Messenger of Allah is this Du'a related to Yunus PBUH only or is it related to all believers in general?"))

 

 

 When Yunus PBUH was in the belly of the whale, he said:

 

 

(('There is none worthy of worship except You, Glory to You, Indeed, I have been of the transgressors. (Lā ilāha illā anta subḥānaka innī kuntu minaz-zālimīn)' A man asked: "O Messenger of Allah is this Du'a related to Yunus PBUH only or is it related all believers in general?" The Prophet PBUH said: "Do you not know the Ayah in the Quran where Allah the Almighty says: 'So We answered his call, and delivered him from the distress. And thus We do deliver the believers (who believe in the Oneness of Allah, abstain from evil and work righteousness).'

 

 

[Al Anbiya'-88]."))

 

 

 Pay attention to the nice deduction of this Hadith: This Du'a (the one Yunus PBUH made) can be made by all believers. Yunus PBUH was in deep and grave danger when he was in the belly of the whale, and he was in three kinds of darkness; the darkness of the night, the darkness of the whale's belly and the darkness of the sea. As you all know below 100 meters under the sea surface, there is only darkness, so you can see nothing, and this whale dived deep in the water to the absolute darkness of the sea, and Yunus PBUH was in the darkness of its belly:

 

﴾ But he cried through the darkness (saying): La ilaha illa Anta [none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah)], Glorified (and Exalted) are You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]. Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers." ﴿

 

 [Al-Anbiya', 87]

 

 

("O Messenger of Allah is this Du'a related to Yunus PBUH only or is it related to all believers in general?" The Prophet PBUH said: "Do you not know the Ayah in the Quran where Allah the Almighty says: 'So We answered his call, and delivered him from the distress. And thus We do deliver the believers (who believe in the Oneness of Allah, abstain from evil and work righteousness).'

 

[Al-Anbiya'-88]."))

 

 There is no intermediary between Allah and man:

 We can make the Du'a of our Master Yunus PBUH, we also should send prayers upon the prophet PBUH before and after Du'a and we have the Great Name of Allah with which we ask Him (i.e. Ar-Rahman, Al-Barr, Ar-Raheem, all His other Beautiful Names), the Name "The Most Merciful of all those who show mercy" and the Name "Thul  Jalal wal Ikram", besides the following Name of Allah:

 

((…Antallahul-Ahadus-Samad, alladhi lam yalid wa lam yuwlud, wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad (O Allah! I ask You by virtue of Your being Allah, the One, the Self-Sufficient Master, Who begets not nor was begotten, and there is none co-equal or comparable to Him).'))

 

 [Narrated by four Imams except An-Nasa'i, on the authority of Abdullah bin Buraidah]

 

 

 These are the Great Names of Allah with which if someone asks Allah, his need will be met.

 

 

 There is one last important point that you should keep in mind: Allah responds to the one who asks Him with His Great Names with which man might gain Allah's Mercy, Allah's Bestowal, Allah's Help and a way out of troubles, and although life is troublesome, this door is open to all mankind, so do not ever use any other being between you and Allah. Instead, you should ask Allah directly, and the proof is in the Quran, for there are 12 Ayat where Allah tells us about those who asked the Prophet PBUH about certain matters, and in all of them Allah orders the Prophet PBUH to answer them as follows:

 

﴾They ask you (O Muhammad PBUH) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: "In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men ﴿

 

 [Al-Baqarah, 219]

﴾ And they ask you what they ought to spend. Say: "That which is beyond your needs." ﴿

 

 [Al-Baqarah, 219]

﴾ And they ask you concerning orphans. Say: "The best thing is to work honestly in their property, ﴿

 

 [Al-Baqarah, 220]

﴾ They ask you concerning menstruation. Say: that is an Adha (a harmful thing for a husband to have a sexual intercourse with his wife while she is having her menses), therefore keep away from women during menses  ﴿

 

[Al-Baqarah, 222]

 

 

 Allah asks the Prophet PBUH to tell them the answer in 12 Ayat, but in the following Ayah, Allah the Almighty says:

 

﴾ And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad PBUH) concerning Me ﴿

 

[Al-Baqarah, 186]

 

 

 Hence, Allah the Almighty does not ask the Prophet PBUH to tell people the answer, but rather He says:

 

﴾  Then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge).﴿

 

[Al-Baqarah, 186]

 

 

 This means that the Du'a of man should be directly to Allah, and Allah the Almighty will respond to him directly. Also, it means that man should not resort to any intermediary when he wants to make Du'a to Allah, but rather he should ask Allah directly, given man is stronger when he resorts to Allah, and Allah the Almighty responds to the one who supplicates Him.